The Tragedy of Loving Jamie Clarke by Rebecca R. Cohen Read Free Book Online Page A

regret. I turn to walk away before he can say anything that might change my mind.
    “April,” Jamie says grabbing my forearm and spinning me around to face him. “I’m not afraid of your brace and frankly I don’t give a shit what people think of me.
    Waves climb the rocks and blanket the shore. If I could put this scene in slow motion I’d have some Celine Dion song blasting. I can see why these types of scenes work though. Jamie and I are face-to-face and through his furrowed brows and flat lips I can still see he’s nervous. I could say a million things right now and if I really want to I can put an end to all of this before it begins and avoid further embarrassment.
    “You don’t even know me,” I fold my arms across my chest and stare out across the ocean. “Why are you being so nice to me? And why doesn’t my brace intimidate you? Most guys our age would run screaming for the hills.”
    “Not all teenage boys are immature dicks, April,” Jamie says, throwing a flashy smile at me. “I am not like those guys who teased you in the parking lot. I don’t care about the brace. You got dealt a shitty card but that doesn’t define you. This,” he grabs one of the metal bars, “isn’t who you are. It’s is just a thing you wear to fix an imperfection. Like people who have to wear glasses or braces to straighten their teeth. It’s just a thing and it doesn’t scare me. Actually it’s what drew me to you.”
    What a curious thing he just said! Jamie begins to walk further along the path, slowly so I’ll follow. He makes himself comfortable on one of the benches that overlook the ocean and tap the bench for me to sit beside him. I do.
                  “Those guys were relentless yesterday and most girls I know would have ran right back to their cars and never come back. But not you. You continued on your way and acted as if it didn’t even happen and I had to know your story.”
    I can’t move and I’m not sure I’m breathing. My hands are trembling so hard that I have to shove them under my legs to prevent Jamie from seeing. I should probably say something but words seem to be failing me. I thought this brace was some sort of social death sentence. That there was no way anyone could see past it, but Jamie did; he saw through it and saw me. The problem now is, I am going to have to tell Amber she was right and I’ll never hear the end of it.
    “Okay now that the sappy speech portion of the evening is out of the way, shall we go see this Cove you were telling me about?” Jamie says as he stands up and holds his hand out for mine.
    “You mean you still want to go?” I ask.
    “Of course, I do. Why would you even think that I wouldn’t?”
    “Because,” I start but I don’t have any ending. “My freak out.”
    “I don’t scare easily. Besides, your freak out gives me another reason to find you intriguing,” Jamie says sweetly. “Haven’t you ever heard that guys like a challenge?”
    I slowly place my hand in his and smile. I’m standing here with the sunset crashing hues of red and orange into the ocean, in front of this gorgeous boy on a date I didn’t think I’d go on. If I am going to do this I might as well commit. Besides, I feel like I can do anything. This must be how Amber feels every time she lands a new boyfriend. This feeling of excitement, mystery and suspense it’s like watching a really good television show and having to wait until the next week to find out what happens however, I think the anticipation of what comes next is worse than waiting for next week’s episode.
     
     
     

-7-
     
     
    I have walked the halls of this school every day and most days I was convinced that this school was an asylum for the craziest people but today I am seeing it through a different set of eyes. I am sure it has a lot to do with the veil that Jamie has put over my eyes.
    It’s been only been a day since my date with Jamie but I can still feel the crisp breeze in the air